Sacramento City Council Repeals Parade Rules!

1. Keith Wagner’s summary:

Tuesday evening, by a unanimous vote, the
Sacramento City Council REPEALED, IN ITS
ENTIRETY, the portion of the Parade
Ordinance banning the innocent possession
of everyday items at public gatherings.

The remainder of the Parade Ordinance
remains in effect at this time. Thus
there are still permitting requirements
that must be met for any "parade" to be
100% legal.

From my vantage point in the audience,
the key councilmembers who took the
initiative appeared to be Hammond,
Tretheway, Sheedy, Fong and Fargo.
McCarty, while not quite as vocal, also
appeared troubled by the existing
ordinance.

Waters, Cohn and Pannel all spoke against
repeal, but then turned around and voted
for Fargo's motion (seconded by Hammond)
to repeal the ban on everyday items.

Direction was given to staff to redraft
the provision again to try to better
define "weapons," and some councilmembers
requested a more broad examination of the
entire ordinance, right down to the rather
ambiguous definition of what, exactly,
constitutes a "parade." So, there will be
(as always) more work to be done.

But the amazing news is that they actually
took affirmative action to repeal the
most egregious provision of the ordinance,
rather than just leaving it in place,
again, while staff works on the new version.

Long story short: write it on and with
whatever you want, make it as big as you
want, put it on whatever kind of pole you
want, and wave it proudly as you peaceably
assemble. You are legal, my friends (well,
so long as you obtain the necessary permit
for your "parade," that is).

Congratulations to all who worked so hard
for so long on making this happen. Thanks
to the Council (especially the four "old
guard" members who were willing to say, on
the record, that the existing ordinance no
longer makes any sense to them) is also due.

Amazing.

-Keith Wagner


2. Terri Hardy’s Sacramento Bee story

Council repeals parade rules
Ordinance drafted at a time when the city feared violent protests 'no longer
seems to fit,' the mayor says.
By Terri Hardy -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, December 1, 2004
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here.

Weighing the delicate balance between public safety and protecting civil
rights, the Sacramento City Council late Tuesday voted unanimously to repeal a
controversial parade ordinance and go back to the drawing board.
The decision came after several meetings and hours of debate. Finally,
council members said the statute as written was overbroad and chilling to civil
rights.


"When we first passed this ordinance, I think it made some sense, we had a
lot of information that was very troubling and of great concern to the City
Council," Mayor Heather Fargo said. "This ordinance no longer seems to fit."
Councilman Steve Cohn argued that it would be a "big mistake" to throw out
the ordinance and start over. And City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said she
wasn't ready to rescind the measure, pointing out the weapons confiscated from
protesters during the agricultural demonstrations.

"I wouldn't want to be in a parade or a march with (people carrying) weapons
that were brought here," Pannell said. "Citizens of Sacramento could have been
hurt, and we would have been responsible."

But in the end, they voted for the repeal. Cohn said he did it to "bring the
council back together."

In June 2003, the City Council quietly passed the emergency measure that
regulated what people could carry and wear in parades to prepare for potentially
violent protests during the Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agriculture
Science and Technology.

But in the aftermath, the restrictions were questioned. They banned things
like wearing bandannas, and carrying baseball bats or signs with "lengths of
lumber" more than 2 inches wide.

Several public meetings have been held. During the last hearing, the council
discovered that the regulations would even have barred traditional veterans or
ROTC parades if their members carried weapons.

The council was presented with a revised ordinance Tuesday, which allowed
baseball bats and weapons if they were unloaded and inspected beforehand.

However, spontaneous gatherings of more than 75 people were prohibited, and
other strict provisions, including a ban on glass containers, remained.

Marines, activists, civil rights attorneys and others testified against the
fixes. Some warned that if the ordinance was not repealed outright, it would be
challenged.

"You're taking otherwise legal items and making it illegal if they choose to
express the rights of free speech," said Jeffrey Schwarzschild, a civil rights
attorney. "It's unenforceable, untenable and unconstitutional."

One person, Dave Jenest, voiced support, calling the regulations a measured
response to protesters who might vandalize property, become violent or mask
their identities and look "like terrorists."

One of the stickiest problems for city officials was how to craft an
ordinance that would allow veterans or ROTC members to march with their unloaded
weapons.

The city has proposed a system in which police would inspect and mark weapons
as acceptable.


About the writer:
The Bee's Terri Hardy can be reached at (916) 321-1073 or thardy [at] sacbee.com.

3. A Wacky Poem/Song

Repeal, Repeal, Repeal!

By Dan Bacher

In California’s Capitol, there’s a law that’s really bad
We call it Son ‘O Patriot, it made John Ashcroft glad
The City Council passed this law, without public scrutiny
It outlaws Our Bill of Rights and our liberties

Chorus:
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal, it doesn’t make no sense
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal, this stupid ordinance!

It created a police state, when the Ag Show came to town
The Robo-Cops arrested folks, and dragged them to the ground
It outlawed water bottles, marbles and bandanas too
It said what signs you could hold, and which ones you couldn’t use

Chorus:
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal, it doesn’t make no sense
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal, this stupid ordinance!

It even outlawed veterans, from marching in parades
It made their flag poles and their guns, subject to police raids
Now it’s time to flush this law, down the toilet of history
No amendment can ever save it, it’s a big atrocity

Chorus:
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal, it doesn’t make no sense
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal, this stupid ordinance!